So…i have some leftover grilled chicken. And i thought i would stretch it with some potato, add a gravy, maybe some frozen peas or celery, a bit of parsley, and top it with a biscuit and call it supper tomorrow (Sunday). The plan is to cook the biscuit atop the chicken, in a pie pan, and call it chicken pot pie.
I’ve never done this before. So, if you have, or you’ve done similar:
Will this generally work?
Does the chicken mixture need to be hot when i put it in the oven?
Should i cook the potatoes before adding them to the mix?
Should the biscuit be one solid piece or in chunks?
Should the biscuit entirely cover the glop, or do i need to vent it? A lot? A couple of holes?
Anything else i should know?
Fast answers most useful, but I’ll take whatever i can get.
I don’t add potatoes to my chicken pot pie, but I think if you dice them fine, they’ll cook well enough.
My recipe calls for the chicken mixture to be thickened before it goes into the casserole, so it’s hot when it goes into the oven. I think you could put it into the oven cold, but I’d lower the oven temperature so you don’t burn your pastry.
I use a pie crust for the top, not a biscuit. If you’re thinking of more of a biscuit style topping, then in my book it’s chicken 'n dumplings.
If you use a pie crust style pastry, then yes, cover the whole top and vent it as you would for a regular juicy pie. No need for a bottom crust. Lightly oil the outside of the casserole dish and flute your crust right onto that. It’ll be fine.
I’ve never used prepackaged biscuits or a biscuit mix for it, just rolled out a thin top dough. I also like dough on the bottom and sides.
Definitely cook the chicken first. Food safety trumps all.
You can have the mixture hot or not, but you’ll need to adjust your cooking time accordingly.
I peel and chop the potatoes, then add them to boiling water for about a minute. Maybe two if they’re extra-firm. Take 'em out, drain, and add to your mix.
I like the top crust to be solid, but I’ve never tried a patchwork approach.
Definitely vent it. I’d say no more than 2" of crust around any one vent hole.
The chicken is already cooked. It’s leftovers from this evening’s grilled chicken. (I cut up a whole chicken and cooked it on the grill.)
The reason I’m asking about whether the filing needs to be hot is because i have a lot of stuff i need to do tomorrow, and i wondered if i could made the filing in the morning, then go out for brunch, and then finish it when i get home, in time to eat it before my evening commitment.
Whether i make a pie crust or a biscuit topping, I’ll be making it from scratch. I just thought a biscuit might be more interesting. I guess i could call it chicken with dumplings. That’s not a dish I’ve ever eaten, nor have any familiarity with.
Make the filling, refrigerate. Then tomorrow, before you assemble it, heat it a bit on the stove while you make your biscuits.
Re pastry v. biscuits, it’s just a personal preference. Here’s the dumpling/biscuit recipe I use:
Put a stick of butter in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before you want to start.
Sift together:
2 C AP Flour
4 t Baking Powder
1/2 t Baking Soda
1 t Salt
Any herbs or parsley you want in your biscuits
With a box grater, grate
4 T of butter into the dry mix above.
In a separate bowl mix:
1 cup milk
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 large egg
Mix together well, THEN add to dry ingredients w/ a rubber spatula. Mix as little as possible. You don’t want to make 'em tough.
Drop by large spoonfuls on top of hot casserole filling. Bake at 450F until they are barely brown on top, about 20 minutes.
My chicken and dumplings recipe is very different than my pot pie recipe. Entirely different flavor profiles. But the stew-topped-with-pastry-or-dough concept is the same.
Thank you. I think i will make the filing in the morning, toss it in the fridge, and then warm it on the stove before filling the pie pan. I can probably warm it while i make the topping.
I was thinking of doing a rolled biscuit (from the joy of cooking) which is very much like a pie crust with baking powder. I’ve never done drop biscuits, either, and maybe don’t want to do it for the first time when I’m under time pressure. But your recipe sounds good.
You don’t need to warm the filling on the stove, you can put a cold casserole in the oven and cook it at 300F until you see bubbling from around the edges of the pan (usually about an hour), pull it and wait 30m and it should be the perfect temp throughout. Hell, you can even cook it directly from frozen, as evidenced by the frozen pot pies you can buy in the grocery store.
I wouldn’t put the biscuits on until it goes in the oven though, the bottoms can get slimy if you put them on early. No need to vent if you’re putting on biscuits.
What you’re making sounds a lot like the biscuit based version of chicken and dumplings, so starting with a recipe of that sort should ensure that things turn out decent. If you really want to include potatoes, perhaps modify it from an Irish Chicken and Dumplings recipe.
I do something very similar. I warm the filling in the casserole dish while the oven preheats and until I see some bubbles around the edge, then I pull out the casserole and add the biscuit dough. I add blobs of drop biscuit dough, a little space in between, and they spread together as they bake.
When I make chicken pot pie, I usually freeze half of the filling. I then thaw it in the fridge, then pour it in a baking dish , cover it with a crust, and bake.
So If you make your filling ahead of time, put it in the fridge to cool, and then want to put it in the oven, I wouldn’t worry about heating it up before putting it in the oven.
However, even when I make it from scratch, the ingredients for the filling are usually cooked before assembling the pot pie. I usually add carrots, not potatoes and I cook them with onions to start the filling.
Dagnabbit, today’s the perfect weather for chicken pot pie, but I don’t have any of the ingredients. There’s the shopping list for tomorrow.
@puzzlegal however, you make it or made it, is there any left?? When do you want us over? I have some prosecco chilling in the fridge-- I’ll bring it. <ThelmaLou tries (in vain) not to drool on the keyboard…>
This evening, but there are three of us, and I’m not sure i have enough to share.
Thanks, everyone. The point of the potatoes was to stretch an inadequate quantity of chicken, but i ended up with two cups of cubed chicken meat after I removed the skin and bones. So I left out the potatoes. I did cook up two small carrots and a stick of celery. I just realized that I forgot to add parsley… Probably too late, now.
The filling is now chilling in a small casserole in my fridge. I used approximately the “bechamel 1” recipe in the Joy of Cooking, but substituted some frozen chicken/duck broth for most of the milk. I had trouble, initially, with lumps, but after letting it cook in the oven at 200 for twenty minutes, most of them dissolved. And i ran it through a strainer for good measure.
I decided to use a small casserole instead of a pie plate. The volume is similar, but the top is smaller. I will make one batch of biscuit and just cook the extra as biscuits. I was afraid the ratio of filling to topping would be too high in a pie pan. Also, if we do have leftovers, this dish has a lid, and it’s easy to pop it in the fridge.
I mean, there’s perfect and there’s “It’s a weeknight and I have a PTA meeting.” For the latter, I would:
Put the potatoes in the microwave for five minutes. When they come out the peels should slide right off, and the insides be about half done. Dice.
Whip some potato starch (or cornstarch) into some chicken broth and pour it over the potatoes, leftover chicken, and whatever bits of veg need using up from the freezer. (run hot water over them to thaw.) Add whatever dried herbs you like, or whatever is growing closest to the back door. Basil, thyme, marjoram are each good. If tarragon, use like three flakes, it can overwhelm a pie.
Use a glass dish so you can nuke it again. (I usually use something with higher sides than a pie plate.) Get the liquid bubbling so you can see if it’s thickening enough. Add more starch if needed.
Grab some self-rising flour and heavy cream. Mix into a stiff paste. Drop in large spoonfuls over the pie filling until it’s mostly covered. Bung in the oven and go get dressed for PTA. Tell somebody to take it out when the biscuits are brown.
When do you want us over? I have some prosecco chilling in the fridge-- I’ll bring it. <ThelmaLou tries (in vain) not to drool on the keyboard…>